Polish president strips Zelenskyy of honor over naming of army unit after notorious WWII group
Nawrocki said the move would not change Poland’s support for Ukraine as tensions rose over wartime memory and a possible diplomatic rift.
- On Friday, Polish President Karol Nawrocki revoked the Order of the White Eagle from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Kyiv approved naming a military unit 'Heroes of the UPA,' citing historical offense to Poland.
- Poland associates the UPA with the Volhynia massacres between 1943 and 1945, where records indicate up to 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed; Kyiv views the group as independence fighters against Nazi and Soviet occupation.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha condemned the revocation as a "strategic mistake" that benefits Moscow, announcing he will return his own Commander's Cross award granted to him in October 2022.
- Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned the conflict "pleases Putin and shocks our allies," while Zelenskyy's attendance at next week's Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk remains uncertain amid the diplomatic rift.
- The dispute complicates the strategic partnership against Russian aggression, though Nawrocki maintains Poland's military support for Ukraine remains unchanged despite the diplomatic tension over unresolved historical grievances.
210 Articles
210 Articles
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Saturday that he had returned the Order of the White Eagle to the Polish president. Karol Nawrocki decided to withdraw the award because Zelensky had named one of Ukraine's military units after "heroes of the UPA."
Ukrainian officials return Polish honors in protest after Zelensky stripped of Order of the White Eagle
Ukrainian Presidential Office Head Kyrylo Budanov announced on Saturday, June 20, that he is renouncing the Golden Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit for Poland, which he was awarded in 2025. Budanov made this decision after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle, calling Warsaw’s move a “hostile act” toward Ukrainians and “a gift for the Moscow aggressor.” “I am convinc…
The withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle to the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has unleashed critical sounds in Kiev. Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, made official on Friday the withdrawal of the maximum decoration of his country. Zelenski had received it in 2023, when the head of the Polish State was Andrzej Duda. Following the announcement, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha made public his protest and announced on his social …
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